


Five Times the Ladies of Atlantis Celebrated

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: fandom_stocking, Five Times, Fluff, Gen, Holidays, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-08
Updated: 2011-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-14 13:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times they celebrated</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times the Ladies of Atlantis Celebrated

**Author's Note:**

  * For [noveltea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/noveltea/gifts).



> A fandom_stocking stocking stuffer for Noveltea. I hope you like it.
> 
> (Fun fact: I had already written Kate's birthday as the 4th of July, and while searching for her hair continuity, I discovered that her canonical birthday is July 3rd. Whadayaknow!)

It was New Years, back on Earth. That didn’t matter as much to them here in Atlantis, as they estimated that the year on this planet was about 80 days shorter, but it was a milestone in her mind. Elizabeth lit a candle and watched as the light flickered over her makeshift streamers. She had made them out of a few cut up papers from her recycle bin, and crumpled up another one for the ball, but that was the extent of her decorations.

Last New Years, she had celebrated with Simon - they snuggled together on the couch in their pajamas and watched the ball in Times Square drop on the TV. There had been champagne, and kissing, but mostly there had been familiarity - something that her life had been missing, as of late. And while coming to Atlantis was exciting, it had been three months since she had seen Simon, and she had lost so many of her people to the Wraith.

As the clock drew closer to eight (roughly the equivalent of midnight at Stargate command), Liz took a swig from her glass. It was only water, but she had put it into a champagne flute, to make it seem more festive. As her watch flashed 19:59:50, Liz began the countdown.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three two… one." She dropped the paper ball into the trash can, downed her water, and then blew out the candle. And then, in the dark, Elizabeth allowed herself to cry.

-^-

Laura thought that she had coped very well with the horror of being inside Rodney's body, thank you very much, and now she deserved a little alone time. She had a week off from duty, courtesy of commander Sheppard, and she was going to savor it. As soon as she was released from under Carson's gorgeous, though watchful, eye, she took a long run around the East pier, reveling in the feel of her own familiar body. That was followed by a long hot bubble bath, and she offered thanks to the ancients for the private whirlpools that had been found two weeks earlier.

Once she was thoroughly wrinkly and feeling extremely refreshed, Laura was feeling comfortable again, back in her own skin. She changed into her civvies, and stopped in to visit a few strategic members of the Expedition team. Most of the scientists, especially, who dealt with McKay on a regular basis, were more than happy to help her out.

Finally completing her errands, Laura changed into her comfiest pajamas and curled up in her bunk with her laptop. She had enough borrowed DVDs and snacks to last her the whole week, and Laura intended to veg out spring break style until the very second that her time was up. She could only hope that getting lost in a movie or twenty would help her to forget the experiences of her last mission.

Maybe she could forget the things that she had found in Rodney's brain. Maybe she could forget the feeling of being uncomfortably detached from the body she was in. And maybe then she could forget the sense of fading, of losing everything that made her, Laura Juliet Cadman, _her_.

-^-

Kate was slightly unsurprised to find her schedule free for the day - though they were on a different planet, the Expedition had found it both necessary and helpful to maintain the structure of an Earth year. As soon as the scientists had established the year structure on Atlantis, Elizabeth had called a senior staff meeting to discuss their time-keeping.

Kate had advised that, in such a foreign environment, the stability of familiar days, weeks, and months would be a key in maintaining member sanity. It also meant that, though the seasons might be a little different, every one still knew exactly when their own birthday was.

But, of course, Elizabeth had known when Kate's birthday was, and she had given her the day off, free of obligations. Aside from close friends, birthdays were rarely celebrated in the military, and Kate had intended to spend the day going about her routine, but now she was faced with a day of freedom. She could relax on one of the lesser used decks, and perhaps catch up on her recreational reading.

Of course, approaching the deck closest to her office quickly showed Kate the folly of her idea. Earth's early July fell during Atlantis's stormy season, and the rain was pouring down outside. Smiling a little at her own folly, Kate walked back to her room, to read there. Of course, the day wasn't a total wash; she had a few munchies stored in her room that she'd been saving for just such a rainy day. And she even had a birthday present for herself - having used a small part of her allotted requisition space to include a box of hair dye. Red would be quite fun, and patriotic.

-^-

Sam thought it fitting that she was being transferred in September. It took her back to her old schooling days; she felt like she was a substitute teacher, stepping in for Atlantis just to fill in until their _real_ leader could be returned. Then she had to remind herself that their real leader was never coming back, and that she really was in charge of so many lives. (She suddenly understood the pressure that her past commanders had felt quite acutely)

She had missed celebrating Halloween with Teal'c and Cam and the others, but now she was looking forward to her first Thanksgiving on Altantis. It was ironic, as the entire base celebrated the holiday here, not just the Americans. The expedition had come through the gate for the first time in the fall, and they had celebrated a thanksgiving of their own with their new Athosian friends that first November.

Thanksgiving in Atlantis was a true offering of thanks for safe travels and new friends - more true to the original meaning of the holiday than any celebration Sam had ever heard of. And this year she was giving thanks as well, for her new command, and the safety of her members. She was thankful that the crystal alien device was off the base again, though there had been a cost.

But most of all, Sam was grateful for her new team. They were not yet a family to her, as her old team had been, but they were close. Everyone, with the possible exception of Ronon, had welcomed her warmly, and made her feel like one of them, instead of an outsider, a replacement. They had let her into their home, and invited her to make it her own, and for that, as she took a bite of something not quite turkey-like, she gave thanks.

-^-

Teyla did not understand the meaning of this _Christmas_ that the others were so excited about, but their enthusiasm was very infectious. She allowed John to show her what he said was a child's movie, with a couple Christmas stories on it, as well as some adult ones, but they only made her more confused. First there was a singing snowman, who told about a kind of mutated animal called a Rudolf, and then there was a horrible little green man who stole all of the Christmas items, and then there was a little drumming boy, and a man who traveled through time with some things called "muppets", and then the ones after that just blurred together.

She asked Rodney to explain it to her, figuring that the scientist would be able to give her a simpler (if not less wordy) explanation, but he had simply spoken about time zones and warping the space in chimneys and how he had never gotten something called a "light bright" when he was younger.

Finally, she approached Elizabeth with her questions.

"That's a hard thing to explain, Teyla, but I hope I can clear it up for you. The simple version of Christmas is to spread love and joy with those who you are close to, while giving thanks for what you have. Many cultures give gifts at this time, to show loved ones how much they are appreciated, and there are often gatherings with food and music and good friends. On Earth, we use various holidays and stories to explain this idea, which can get very confusing, but the point of most of them is the same. Does that help?"

Teyla nodded. She still wasn't certain where the little green man or the others fit in to this holiday, but the rest sounded very much like a similar celebration on Athos. "Then can you please explain how the crosses and the chimneys and the Grinch fit in?"

Elizabeth sighed, and Teyla though she heard her mutter something that sounded suspiciously like a threat against Colonel Sheppard, but then she took a sip of water and smiled. "Well let's take them one at a time…"


End file.
